Aims & Scope
The British Journal of Sports Medicine is a peer-reviewed, open access sports and exercise medicine journal published by Directive Publications. It advances the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of sports injuries and the science of physical activity, exercise physiology, and athletic performance. The journal serves an international readership of sports physicians, orthopaedic and physiotherapy clinicians, exercise scientists, team doctors, athletic trainers, and graduate researchers.
We welcome original research, systematic and narrative reviews, clinical case reports, and editorials spanning musculoskeletal and orthopaedic sports medicine (including ACL reconstruction and revision, tendinopathy, joint dislocation, and lumbar disc injury), injury incidence and prevention, return-to-play and load management, sports rehabilitation and physiotherapy, exercise prescription, recovery and supercompensation, plyometric and functional training, and sport nutrition and behavior in special populations.
Every submission undergoes rigorous double-blind peer review. Accepted articles are published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) licence, with authors retaining copyright, and are assigned a permanent Crossref DOI. Content is discoverable through Google Scholar and OpenAlex and is harvestable via our OAI-PMH endpoint, ensuring citability, transparency, and long-term preservation of the scholarly record.
Subject Coverage
The British Journal of Sports Medicine welcomes original research, reviews, and case reports across the following core areas:
Research Topics
Core subject areas published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine — explore related research across our journals.
Articles
Orthorexia and vigorexy: a descriptive profile in Brazilian CrossFit practitioners
Influence of tennis court surface on outcomes of circuit training among recreational tennis players
Effectiveness of sports activity to improve motor coordination in special children with obesity
Effect of plyometric training with and without functional training on selected physical fitness variables Of Inter Collegiate Male Football Players
Athlete Compression of Thenar Motor Branch and Thumb Digital Branch of Median Nerve: A Case Report
Frequently Asked Questions
What topics does The British Journal of Sports Medicine cover?
The journal covers sports and exercise medicine broadly: sports injury incidence and prevention, musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions (such as ACL reconstruction, achilles tendinopathy, joint dislocation, and lumbar disc injury), sports rehabilitation and physiotherapy, exercise physiology and athletic performance, training methods like plyometric and circuit training, recovery and supercompensation, and sport nutrition and behavior in special populations.
Who should read and publish in The British Journal of Sports Medicine?
It is aimed at sports physicians, orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, exercise scientists and physiologists, team doctors, athletic trainers, and graduate researchers in sports and exercise medicine who want peer-reviewed, openly accessible evidence to inform clinical practice, training, and further research.
What types of articles can I submit to The British Journal of Sports Medicine?
The journal accepts original research articles, systematic and narrative reviews, clinical case reports, and editorials addressing the theoretical, methodological, clinical, and applied dimensions of sports and exercise medicine.
Is The British Journal of Sports Medicine open access, and who holds the copyright?
Yes. Every accepted article is published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) licence and authors retain copyright. Readers can freely access, share, and build on the work with proper attribution.
How does peer review work and does each article receive a DOI?
All submissions undergo double-blind peer review, where author and reviewer identities are kept confidential. Accepted articles receive a permanent Crossref DOI and are made discoverable through Google Scholar and OpenAlex, with metadata available via our OAI-PMH endpoint.
Is there an article-processing charge, and are waivers available?
An article-processing charge applies on acceptance to sustain open access publishing. Waivers and discounts are available; authors who need financial support should contact the editorial office when submitting. There are no charges to read or download any article.
Is The British Journal of Sports Medicine indexed in PubMed or DOAJ?
As a new open access journal from Directive Publications, it is currently discoverable via Google Scholar and OpenAlex and harvestable through OAI-PMH. The journal follows COPE ethical principles and is working toward eligibility for further indexing services, including a planned DOAJ application, as it builds its publication record.
How do I submit my sports medicine manuscript?
Use the Submit page to send your manuscript with an abstract, keywords, and author details following the Author Guidelines. The editorial team confirms scope fit, then routes qualifying submissions into double-blind peer review.